Death, Hatred, and Sorrow

Disclaimer: If somehow you were linked here from my personal Facebook page, then you've seen most of what I'm about to write. There will be a lot of copy/paste action of things I've already said because I was writing both at the same time.

I sent one of my brothers a goofy text message tonight while I was walking around Wal-Mart. His reply was,

"You hear about Dallas?"

I hadn't heard anything, but he told me that there were people shooting cops in Dallas.

Then I heard it was a sniper situation.

So far, 11 people have been shot, and 4 of them have died.

There are no words for this. Nothing but anger and sadness. This doesn't help or solve anything. It only causes more hate, and we all suffer.We suffer for the lives lost, and the inevitable backlash and retaliation. More death and more hate are the only things that come from this.

It just doesn't make any sense. How can you think that killing is going to make people sympathetic to your "cause"? I'm not talking about the Black Lives Matter movement. These men do not fall under that umbrella. The same way that Islamic extremists and ISIL/ISIS/Daesh do not represent the true Muslim faith, these men that took it upon themselves to commit murder do not represent the Black Lives Matter movement.

I'm speaking only about what happened tonight. I won't pretend to have kept up with every moment of current events. Honestly, I'm probably the wrong person to talk to or listen to regarding this because I don't need a movement to tell me that all lives matter. "I don't see race" is a worn out trope, but I truly don't care. I've grown up around all races and I've never judged someone because of their skin color or the country on their birth certificate. I'll let you show me who you are as a person, and I may not like what you put out there, but your race is the last thing I'd ever use to form an opinion. I will continue to live my life this way and to teach my son the same thing.

This isn't a problem that can be solved by violence or conflict. Everybody doesn't have to agree on everything, but we can all agree that shooting people in the streets is wrong no matter who you are or what side you're on.

Please, talk about this. Even if it's just your friends. Talk about how terrifying and wrong this is. Talk about those that lost their lives tonight to the choices of ignorant men with hearts filled with hate. Talk about how we can change. How we can stop the senseless killing and start to actually address the giant gaping rifts between classes and races in our country.

Don't stop talking. Communication and understanding are the only things that can start to heal and correct what has gone so wrong.

I'm no hippie (I leave that to my wife!), but truly now is a time where we need more love and compassion.

JB

#Tragedy #Racism #Hatred #Dallas #BLM #Love #Communicate